BP Zhuhai Chemical, an 85:15 joint venture of UK oil and petrochemicals giant BP (London / UK; www.bp.com) with China’s Zhuhai Port, has officially started up its Phase 3 PTA unit at Zhuhai / China – see Plasteurope.com of 25.06.2013. Built at a cost of CNY 4.1 bn (about EUR 606m) and engineered by French contractor Technip (Paris; www.technip.com), the new facility for the polyester feedstock complements two projects already completed by BP at the site, lifting local output to more than 2.7m t/y and the British group’s global PTA capability to 8.25m t/y.

With a design capacity of 1.25m t/y, Zhuhai’s Phase 3 is claimed to be the world’s largest single PTA train unit. Also, the Chinese site is the first to use BP’s latest version of its proprietary process. Compared with conventional PTA technology, the group says Zhuhai 3 is highly energy efficient, delivering 95% lower solid waste, 65% lower greenhouse gas emissions and 75% lower water discharge. The bulk of output will supply growing demand from China’s polyester textile industry.

Edward Yang, president of BP China, said the Zhuhai investment “is a good example of our long-term commitment in Guangdong province, which accounts for a large proportion of our investment in China. We look forward to playing a greater and more active role in the progression of the Green Guangdong Agenda by providing our significant experience and expertise in clean energy and energy efficiency.”

In addition to PTA manufacturing and marketing, BP’s business activities in Guangdong include oil product and lubricant retailing, gas terminal, pipelines and trading, aviation fuel supply and oil terminal service.